SALT LAKE CITY – Marc Gasol punished the opposition with his offensive arsenal for three quarters. The Grizzlies center missed only one of his 12 shots and made a career-high six 3-pointers Friday night against the Utah Jazz.

And perhaps Memphis could have turned his performance into a victory if the 7-footer was allowed to play in the fourth quarter. Gasol amassed 28 points in 23 minutes but sat out the final frame of a 107-97 loss to the Jazz in Vivant Smart Home Arena.

The Grizzlies didn’t have enough firepower down the stretch as Gasol stood in the tunnel that led to the visitors' locker room in the final minutes of the game.

The Grizzlies saw a two-game winning streak end as the Jazz held on to the eighth and final playoff position in the Western Conference.

Memphis newcomer MarShon Brooks tried to spark a third straight win with his shooting off the bench. Brooks, who signed a 10-day contract earlier this week, tossed in 24 points.

The Grizzlies pushed the Jazz in the final frame. Memphis trailed 93-89 with 6:30 remaining in the game. But missed free throws, layups and Gasol sitting on the bench doomed the Grizzlies.

Gasol made his first eight shots, including four 3-pointers. His only miss was a long three-point attempt.

“The ball went through the hoop. Guys found me when I was open,” said Gasol, who appeared annoyed about having to sit late in the game. “Obviously, once you get in a little bit of rhythm, it's harder to stop.”

Odds and ends

Brooks is the first player in Grizzlies history to score at least 20 points in each of his first two games with the team… Gasol connected on five 3-pointers three different times in his career. The last time was on October 25, 2017 at Dallas… Grizzles forward Chandler Parsons was given the night off for rest.

Quotes of note

Grizzlies interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Brooks’ second straight game with 20 points or more: “It’s rare you find a guy like that, but you look at his history and what he’s done since he was playing overseas and this is what he does. For him to have the ability to come over here and get the job done, back-to-back nights is obviously a plus. And when you’re in our situation you look for those diamonds in the rough and figure out a way to improve your basketball club.”

Gasol on the improvement of the younger guys playing in the fourth quarter: “They’re just trying to compete and I try to help them with the details and tell them where to be. The small things matter a lot, especially down the stretch, especially on the defensive end. We were able to score a little bit, but they were getting easy shots and getting into the paint and that was the difference between winning and losing.”

Brooks on how he’s adapted to the system so quickly: “These guys trusting, that’s half the battle especially when you’re on a 10-day (contract). Coach is making me feel comfortable. I’ve been gone for four years, out of the NBA but I didn’t stop playing basketball. I’ve been getting high reps up in China. When I came back on this 10-day I wanted to see how good I got myself, so I’m happy with the progress so far.”

Jazz coach Quin Snyder on closing the game: “Sometimes you don’t execute as well as you would like to and other times you execute well. The key thing for us is getting stops on the defensive end. When you take the ball out of the net it becomes more difficult to execute. We had some guys who were disciplined defensively and made it hard and then we got on the defensive glass and we were able to come up with some of those rebounds that were essential.”

Memphis Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff shouts to his team in the first half during an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz Friday, March 30, 2018, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Rick Bowmer, AP